The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed 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 announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling 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: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
