The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, 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 leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
