The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting 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 non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
