The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion 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 attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, 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 outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 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 recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
