The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that office in US history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch 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 deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
