The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
