The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions 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 "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired 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 objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
