The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing 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: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
