The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, 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 background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
