The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
