The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
