The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. While countless VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
