The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
