The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 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 recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
