The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
