The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
