The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed 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 military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance 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 also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 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 reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
