The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker'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 shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
