The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, 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 parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication 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 emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
