The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
