The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked 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 announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
