The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior 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 retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed 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 regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
