The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
