The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in US history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed 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 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating 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: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
