The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, 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 background that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
