The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
