The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
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 composed a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, 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 emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
