The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the bastards 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 deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
