The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience 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 petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
