The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
