The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
