The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up 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 right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture 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 recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
