The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics 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 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
