The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty