The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
