The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After 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 diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
