The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Although countless VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior 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 dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
