The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated 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 meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
