The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple 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 announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
