The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a 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 US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
