The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan 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 involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
