The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to 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 referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the individuals who killed 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."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
