The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing 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: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
