The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, 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 remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
