The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of that position in US history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
