The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
