The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the bastards 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 recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, 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 assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
