The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
