The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
