The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force 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: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
