The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
