The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. While many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture 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.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
