The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey 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 parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators 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."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
