The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. While countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [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 deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
