The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
