The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
