The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied 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 asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
