The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions 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 post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
