The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
