The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication 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 shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
