The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial power 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 stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author'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 shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
