The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
