The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, 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 diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 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 Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, 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 shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
