The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in American history. While countless VPs were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
