The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
