The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
However even then, 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 area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
