The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker'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 evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
