The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated 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 session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 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."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling 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 sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
