The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
However during that period, 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 not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of 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 guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
