The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
