The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated 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 session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
