The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
