The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence 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 evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
