The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
