The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense 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. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion 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 quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
