The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker'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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
