The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, 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 corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
