The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
