The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, 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 involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
