The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of that office in US history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [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 guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
