The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included 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 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief 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 Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
