The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
