The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
