The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication 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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
