The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. While many VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
