The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the perpetrators 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 deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given 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 Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
