The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention 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 participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
