The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
