The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
