The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
