The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who killed 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 credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
