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 the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, 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 invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed 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 proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
