The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were opposing views 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 dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
