The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 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. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
