The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted 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 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked 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 stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
