The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
