The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion 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 attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
