The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion 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 participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
