The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication 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 background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
