The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
