The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
