The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
