The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier 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 position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
