The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip 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 everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
