The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
