The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, 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 cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
