The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
