The former US VP 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 vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. 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 descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence 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. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed 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 make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
