The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. While countless VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, 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 lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
