The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture 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."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
