The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
