The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
