The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
