The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential holders of that position in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along 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 invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
