The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion 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 meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power 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: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
