The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of that office in US history. While many VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
