The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
