The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
