The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense 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 taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet 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 Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
