The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. While countless VPs were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
