The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
