The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
