The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed 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 Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
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 agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
