The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
