The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis 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 establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
