The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering 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 armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey 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 father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
