The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
