The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
