The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that position in American history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
