The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
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 shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
