The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power 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: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
