The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist'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 malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
