The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
