The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling 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 over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
