The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion 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 educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend 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 showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
