The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, 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 dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing 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. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, 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 background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
