The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
