The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
