The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
