The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, 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 corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
