The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 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 credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
