The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
