The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following 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 declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
