The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion 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 taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
