The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although many VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing 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: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
