The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
