The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that office in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith 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 White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
