The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
