The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in US history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated 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 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly 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 chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
