The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
