The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
