The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
