The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
