The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
