The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book 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 emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
