The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
