The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
