The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating 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 background that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
