The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place 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 deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
