The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views 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 retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
