The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
