The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
