The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer 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 educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. 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 pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence 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 background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
