The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that position in US history. Although numerous VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed 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 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
