The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed 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 suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume 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 corner that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
