The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to 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 capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view 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 delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
