The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
