The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
