The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion 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 participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling 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: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
