The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in American history. While countless VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner 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 earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
