The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion 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 attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
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 directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
