The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 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 took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling 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: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
