The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author'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 background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
