The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. While many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for 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 taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at 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 presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
