The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
