The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons 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 terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion 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 cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
