The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture 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 earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating 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: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
