The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
