The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined 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 implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating 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: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
