The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 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 Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, 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 emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
