The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, 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 corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
