The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist'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 evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
