The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following 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 declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
