The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
