The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion 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 participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along 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 military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
But 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 observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
