The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in US history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication 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 leave his hole? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
