The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief 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. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
