The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many VPs were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
