The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions 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 dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
