The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
