The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 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 headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
