The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. While numerous VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
