The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty