The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
