The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author'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 evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
