The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 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 credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power 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: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
