The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
