The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included 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. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
