The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. While countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling 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 malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
