The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
