The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators 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 recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume 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 nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
