The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
