The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, 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 dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
