The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion 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 attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 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 monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
