The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. 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 compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
