The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, 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 come out of his hole? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
