The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
