The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked 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.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
