The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication 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 operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
