The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure 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 energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
