The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
