The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 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 based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
