The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. While many VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
