The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior 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 witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
