The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though 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 chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
