The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
