The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force 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: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
