The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that office in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 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 Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
