The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
