The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
