The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
