The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
