The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
