The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that office in US history. While many second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author'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 evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
