The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices 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 reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
