The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Although many VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
