The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend 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 merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
