The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that office in US history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty