The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
