The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
