The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
