The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. Although many VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
