The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, 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 nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
