The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
