The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary 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 participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
