The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of that office in American history. Although many VPs were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
