The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier 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 the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
