The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary 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. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
