The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author'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 evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
