The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication 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 nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
