The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
