The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although many VPs were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
