The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of that office in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects 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 correct decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
