The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
