The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level 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 role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives 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 earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
