The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high 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 observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
