The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves 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. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
