The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas many VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention 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 participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
