The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention 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 taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, 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 father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
