The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty