The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
