The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that office in US history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings 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 equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
