The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
