The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While many VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed 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 terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
