The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing 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: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
