The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were opposing views 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 not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
