The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
