The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
