The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
