The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
