The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time 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 secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
