The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
