The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
