The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
