The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer 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. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, 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 reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder 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 floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, 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 cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
