The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 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 praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
