The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
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 shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
