The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
