The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
