The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told 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 make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
