The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While many VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives 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 merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
