The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author'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 evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
