The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the bastards 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 credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but strong connections 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 chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
