The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document setting out situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked 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 stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
