The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
