The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks 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 terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
