The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
