The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, 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 operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
