The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. While numerous VPs were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
