The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
