The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in American history. Although many VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
