The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th 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. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction 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 pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader 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 reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
