The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
