The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
