The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas many VPs were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head 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. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
