The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
