The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that position in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
