The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included 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 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
