The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
