The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
