The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
