The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling 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 observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, 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 corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
