The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired 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 announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
