The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
