The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
