The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing 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 corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
