The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume 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 operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
