The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 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 credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
