The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
