The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
