The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of that position in American history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker'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 shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
