The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
