The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential holders of that office in American history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
