The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
