The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. While many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
