The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author'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 background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
