The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
