The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
