The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
