The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
