The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing 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: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
