The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated 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 participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
