The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion 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 background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
