The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although many VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, 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 role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
