The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 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 recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
