The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty