The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication 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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
