The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th 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. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
