The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Although numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
