The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
