The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked 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 announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
