The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured 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 September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
But 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 Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling 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 shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
