The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
