The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
