The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
