The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea 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 quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
