The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, 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 remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
