The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion 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 reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
