The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated 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 little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
