The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion 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.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
