The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, 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? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
