The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary 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. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
