The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted 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 session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 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."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
