The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing 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: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
