The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action 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 reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
