The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
However even then, 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 observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating 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: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
