The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although 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 lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted 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 Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
