The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that position in US history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker'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 leave his lair? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
