The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
