The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
