The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that position in American history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
