The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response 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 elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover 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 having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate 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 floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling 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: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
