The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 come out of his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
