The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
