The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives 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 terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices 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 dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", 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 disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators 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 merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
