The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author'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 malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
