The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
