The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
