The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
