The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration 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 nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to 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 volume 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 shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
