The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense 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. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
