The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
