The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures 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 deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist'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 evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
