The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
