The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
