The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. While numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
