The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
