The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway 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 claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow 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 intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
