The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance 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 disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
