The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that position in American history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
