The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
