The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While many VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background 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 conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
