The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that office in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
