The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
