The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing 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: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
