The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
