The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
