The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction 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 elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, 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 background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
