The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
