The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks 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. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, 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 corner that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
