The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to 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 announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
