The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
