The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Although many VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives 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 merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling 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 malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
