The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed 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 announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
