The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to 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 declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
