The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief 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 taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 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."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
