The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty