The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted 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 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept 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: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
