The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary 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. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", 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 interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
