The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
