The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views 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 dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume 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 shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
