The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks 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. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
