The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, 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 corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
