The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant holders of that position in US history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
