The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
