The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level 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 post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
