The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together 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 strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
