The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
