The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
