The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that office in American history. While many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After 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 plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
