The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of that office in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 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 recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing 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: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
