The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
However 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 Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
