The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried 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 resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
