The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a effective way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
