The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that position in American history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
