The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
