The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
