The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
