The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like 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, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
