The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked 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 objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author'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 evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
