The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, 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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
