The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation 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.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
