The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
