The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
