The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked 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 stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
