The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
