The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence 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 establish procedures to catch the perpetrators 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 credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
