The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
