The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that position in American history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty