The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed 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 September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, 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 region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
