The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
