The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
