The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes 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 secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
