The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, 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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
