The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
