The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
