The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Although many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
