The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
