The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While many vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
