The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. While many VPs were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief 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 engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
