The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined 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 disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, 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 leave his domain? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
