The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement 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 kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
