The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
