The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to 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 implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
