The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume 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 remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
