The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
