The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. 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 no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary 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 participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
