The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion 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 reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
