The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
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 faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then 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 administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to 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 recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
