The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. While numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty