The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
