The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
