The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the individuals 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 merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
