The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 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 credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
