The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied 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 no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
