The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
