The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary 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 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
