The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions 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 post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
