The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution 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, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals 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 merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
