The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, 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 operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
