The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked 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 announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
