The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder 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 ground design with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
