The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication 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 remains unseen leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
