The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion 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 taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier 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 position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
