The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, 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, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
