The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management 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, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked 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 stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
