The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
