The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly 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 chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
