The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
