The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. While many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
