The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary 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 taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
