The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
