The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
