The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, 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 predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
