The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking 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 establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
