The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
