The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. While many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
