The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 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 credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
