The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
