The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
