The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that office in American history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks 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. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action 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 journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
