The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author'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 malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
