The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
