The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
