The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics 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 duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
