The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that position in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove 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 objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
