The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions 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 not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
