The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention 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 participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, 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 surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
