The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head 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 regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, 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 nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably 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 chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
