The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant holders of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor 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 misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
