The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that office in US history. While many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior 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 not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch 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 merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
