The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
