The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing 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: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
