The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that position in US history. Although many VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly 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 concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book 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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
