The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in US history. While many VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
