The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
