The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief 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. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
