The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
