The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
