The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
