The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
