The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
