The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
