The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book 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 background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
