The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
