The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture 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 earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
