The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence 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. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
