The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After 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 stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
