The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted 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 regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment 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 furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
