The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
