The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
