The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary 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. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
