The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
