The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. While numerous VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response 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 traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
