The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
