The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 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 Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
