The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
