The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. While many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for 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 elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
