The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author'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 shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
