The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in US history. While many second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives 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. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, 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 chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
