The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed 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 announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
