The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. While countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
