The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that position in US history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
