The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume 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 corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
