The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
