The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating 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 shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
