The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals 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 path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, 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 written a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip 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.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
