The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence 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: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
