The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, 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 dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
