The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort 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.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
