The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While many VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired 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 stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
