The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
